In case you haven’t noticed, Microsoft has updated its clothing line (dubbed "Softwear") with a few more shirts. So before you continue reading this post, please take your time to have a look through the different shirt designs and the gallery of models showing off said attire.
Done?
Right, here is my question then to Microsoft: Why focus so heavily on the nostalgic aspect of when computers were just starting? Seriously?
For those of you who think that this is ‘brand building’ and an excellent marketing exercise, let me explain my position. These clothes are targeted at non-geeks, this is evident in some of the language used on the site ("geek-chic icongraphy") and the fact that it is being sold at Urban Outfitters (a quick look at their site shows it to be *far* more fashionable then what most geeks I know (myself included) wear). The problem here is that presenting the view that Microsoft is reminiscing the good ol’ days of DOS and the command line shows Microsoft to be even more out of touch then most people had thought. One of the themes that I have been working hard at Curtin to create is the idea that "this is not your fathers’ Microsoft" – namely that Microsoft has changed and moved on from the days of DOS and Windows 9x and is now a stronger company that builds far better software. These shirts entirely undermine that notion.
So, what is to be done? 
My recommendation is for "Softwear" to focus heavily on the new technologies that Microsoft is releasing. For the non-geek, have something with the Windows Live Messenger logo, or a modified Windows 7 logo (eg here or here). However, for the geeks (myself included) focus on the developer and server-side technologies. At the moment Microsoft has a *ton* of cool logos (example: anything to do with Windows Azure), putting any of these logos on a shirt with a quick, 3 or 4 word, slogan beneath will sell to the geek community, especially if Microsoft partners with a company like Think Geek to do distribution. And even if people are not sure of what the logo or the slogan means, the geek wearing the shirt would be more than happy to explain (they become a walking bill-board…)
Finally, I’d just like to add that if you are a person from Microsoft’s marketing department then please, *please*, leave a comment to explain to me (seeing this from the Australian Geek perspective) what Microsoft was aiming for.
- Daniel
Curtin MSP
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